I welcome another group of learners on the first day of Professional Communication and Presentation. The now familiar first day jitters energize me as I ask this morning’s attendance question. I grab hold of my clicker, distribute the course calendar for this month, and introduce Simon Sinek’s concept of Start with Why; I’ve begun another exciting exploration and experiment in learning. I marvel at the students’ ability to engage with this non-traditional approach to public speaking; I assuage their fears about not being able to check Facebook for the next three hours, and I ask them what they want to learn this month. This day, like every day I am privilege to engage with learners, is the best day, the day I am reminded of the formative power of education, the impact an engaged, challenging, and unashamedly quirky teacher can have on a room full of individuals. I am Chiara, and I am a super-teacher. 

 

Super-teachers are idealists with tempering practicality. As idealistic problem solvers, super-teachers dream big—how can we inspire learners of all backgrounds and abilities to maximize their potential? We find ways to actualize this dream through the use of specific, measurable learning opportunities for students both in the classroom and online.  I consistently tweak assignments, course structure, application activities, discussion questions, and lesson materials—my recent work as an instructional designer has inspired me to do more, to apply design-centered thinking to the classroom. I devote 55-60 hours a week to the study and practice of education because it is my responsibility to support and uphold the formative power of education. My dedication has had marked and proven results. My students consistently amaze me with their abilities to learn and apply. I workshop with teachers and help motivate them to do more than what they did last semester or what they’ve done before.  Finding one’s bliss, as Joseph Campbell puts it, is at the core of each of our journeys. My journey has led me to my bliss, which is helping others empower themselves through learning.  

 

I believe it is any educational institution’s role and responsibility to create a learning-focused environment where students thrive, succeed, and contribute that success to the greater benefit of their local and global communities. Such an institution cannot function without committed super-teachers willing to be lifelong learners, mentors, and knowledge guides. This learning-centered approach to education concerns itself with creating experiences that ensure that a student is expanding his or her understanding of the world, in an effort to better equip him or her to exceed the boundaries and restrictions we often face when we lack a quality education.  I have been a proud member of several learning-centered college communities. 

 

In designing, revising, and evaluating on campus and online courses, I draw from established modes of instructional design and curriculum development. I am inspired by Gagne’s theory of instruction. While I don’t follow this theory strictly, I do believe in developing clear and articulate learning outcomes that align with how our students learn as well as providing the learning events necessary to facilitate learning. For instance, when students are introduced to new concepts such as developing a professional mission statement, I first explain how developing this fits in with their professional goals and how the mantra applies to the real world. I then briefly explain the process of constructing a professional philosophy; guide them through a four-step process for creating a mission statement; engage them in individual and group critique; and ask them to integrate this statement into a larger professional persona project. 

 

As a teacher and course developer, I believe in four core principles: application, critical thinking, design, and challenge. These four structures help facilitate learning in the classroom and online. Students learn best when lecture is balanced with consistent application of course concepts. In class, I introduce a concept, allow students to lead discussion on the topic, instruct briefly, and then move into an exercise or activity.  The ability to think critically and objectively about a course concept, whether it is writing, speaking, informing, persuading, analyzing, or synthesizing, is key in the 21st century.  As Dan Pink asserts, in the conceptual age, we need to empower learners to use their whole minds to tackle today’s challenges.  Design is the act of finding elegant solutions to complex problems. In addition to applying universal principles of design to my teaching materials, I work to develop assignments that enable students to find solutions and to make deliberate, contemplative decisions about their work.  By taking on challenging compositional, rhetorical, analytical, persuasive, visual design-based, or self-reflective projects that emphasize contemplation and revision, my students push themselves beyond their comfort zones to create amazing works. From the fast-paced Ignite presentation to a research-based analysis of poetry, students learn that a challenge is nothing to run away from. 

 

Communication is a transaction and a flow between listener and speaker. I believe in adapting to my audience, making others feel comfortable in expressing their views, being direct and honest, encouraging collaboration, and engaging others in constructive communication.  I use these guiding principles to communicate and collaborate with students, faculty, staff, administrators, and professionals in the field.  I believe that my main responsibility as a communicator is to adapt to the needs of my audience/listener. As a devotee of Nancy Duarte’s selfless approach to communication, I focus on providing service and mentorship. Before developing a message, I consider what a listener needs and where he or she is coming from. I adapt my message to fit my audience’s needs. For students, this means understanding what the student experience is like, focusing on encouragement and relate-ability while also maintaining professionalism and challenging students to think beyond their existing realm of experience. For faculty, staff, and colleagues, this means encouraging open discourse, focusing on our collective goal (to facilitate learning), and ensuring conversations are constructive as opposed to negative or complaint-driven.

 

As a student, I did not recognize or realize the impact a super-teacher, a true mentor and guide, can have on an individual’s development.  I rejected the prescribed teacher path my loved ones expected from me after graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature. It was not until I was thrust into my first classroom out of necessity and curiosity in 2004 that I realized I not only had an aptitude for teaching, but that I would be willing to devote my time, energy, and drive to continuously sparking a love of language and communication in my students. 

 

As a teacher, I now see how important it is for students to have learning heroes to look up to, individuals who can bridge the student/teacher divide and truly illustrate the formative impact of education and learning on an individual.  Throughout my ten-year educational journey, an interest in teaching became proficiency, and proficiency became mastery. I’ve cultivated my abilities the areas of instruction and real-world assessment, mentoring and student community participation, curriculum development and instructional design. I apply and cultivate this aptitude and passion in the service of learning-centered communities. I have made it my objective to foster an understanding in students that my role as professor, their role as students, and the role of the secondary education stem from a common principle: the ongoing search for answers by examining the questions others ask and coming up with questions of our own.  

 

A critical mind has an avalanche effect on the individual--it can inspire empathy for the plight of others; it can transform indecision to action. It is our ability to think critically that is key to solving the world’s biggest problems—we must work to support nurture, and challenge our world’s problem solvers. I seek to work with other super educators to continue revitalizing and revolutionizing the ways in which we engage and empower our students to think critically. I am determined to expand my knowledge and experience in ways that will help teachers in the trenches develop challenging, engaging, and lasting instructional materials, assessments, lessons, and courses. I am Chiara. I am a super-teacher. Bring on the learning revolution.